The Transit Custom is a great drive, Ford really have done a superb job. But, van leasing options are not always as sexy as the new Sportvan. It has been launched at a lower price than its competitors and with superb future values and great supply prices, the Sport is going to be a run away success.
Many van manufacturers have brought new, sporty vans to the market and they have been a success. There seems to be a standard set up and that includes alloys, stripes and sporty exhaust. The Transit Custom is no different.
If you are going to spend all day in a van, lets say in a high mileage lease, then this is the way to go.
Ford have sat the Sportvan on 18 inch alloys, running on low profile tyres. They have included colour coded bumpers and a body kit. Over and above many rivals, Ford have included a camera, a trailer hitching system, a lane-keep system, foglights, cruise control, air-conditioning, heated screen , ESC and ABS.
What Ford have not done is changed the engine and in truth I would rather they didn’t. The Mercedes-Benz Vito with 225bhp and the VW Transporter with 180bhp don’t benefit from the extra power, the Sportvan still drives really well and it is 155bhp after all.
The Sportvan of course maintains all the sensible and well thought out touches that the standard van has, such as a 12 output on top of the dashboard for your sat nav and carriers for multiple bottles. This van also has the best mirrors of any van that I have driven. They are rock steady and really big.
What helps swing the Ford in my eyes is this, it is 10% more economical than the VW Sportline and 20% more economical than the Mercedes-Benz SportX, the VW is £3995 more than the Ford and the Mercedes is nearly £8000 more. Ford wins hands down.